EAST HELENA — East Helena swept a Southeast A basketball doubleheader from Livingston on Thursday night.
A week away from the postseason, the EHHS boys started fast and finished strong for a 59-37 win.
"We challenged them (at the) beginning of the game saying, you know, our goal is to hold them under 40 (points) and we did that, just getting after them defensively, being physical. It worked out tonight," said Vigilantes coach Ty Ridgeway.
East Helena's DeonDray Ellis led all scorers with 13 points, but teammate Slade Olson added 12 of his own. Talen Thatcher (nine points ) and Andrew Maxness (eight points) played tough as well.
"Being an (East Helena) Vigilante comes with a lot of responsibility...I came out first half, we made shots...got our team energy up, it was a (really) good game," emphasized Ellis.
In the nightcap, East Helena's girls celebrated senior night. The Vigilantes sent Abby Kirchdoefer, Bailey Bergum and Dymon Root out with a 54-51 victory. Root had 11 points while Bergum added five.
The game was tied late in the third quarter, partly due to Maria Turck's 17 points and Livingston teammates' Ashley Stroup's Ashley Strupp 13 points and seven rebounds. But East Helena had four players score in double-figures, including Ellie Silvonen with 10 points, Janelle Taylor with 11 and Brooke Harris with a game-high 14.
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